Education expert Rick Hess talked Wednesday about the difficult task of “cage-busting leadership,” referring to how educators can push aside antiquated rules and regulations that keep public schools from better teaching and mentoring students.

“We try to say if we had a little more money, coaching, time, the story would be different,” he said.

Hess, the director of education and policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, spoke to 700 Denver business and education leaders at the annual Public Education & Business Coalition luncheon. He said the private sector is often faster at eliminating obstacles that impede higher level performance than the public school system.

But that doesn’t mean business has it figured out. “The average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company is 50 years,” he said.

Hess said business can help public schools with quality control, but business people who get involved with the schools need to understand that a partnership is a two-way street. Business people often bring a unique set of skills to the table — budgeting, finance or information technology systems — and instead of sticking to what they do well, they want to give advice on curriculum.

Colorado Classroom provides ground-level reporting on what’s going on in the state’s public schools and on college campuses, looking at people, places, issues, trends and innovative approaches to education.